Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru

To Villa 3 Attendant Anees, Thank you for your remarkable attention to detail during my stay. From neatly folding our pajamas and cleaning every corner, to clearing sand from the deck and pool, your care shines through. I especially appreciated the tissues placed conveniently—such thoughtfulness made my stay wonderful. Thank you, Yaffes and Alsam from the Water Sports Center. When the waves got bigger, they immediately came in a motorboat to rescue me and my safety ropes back to the shore. They are strong and reliable. Cockroaches appeared in the morning on the first two days, but all the staff responded promptly. Both the sunset cruise and the dolphin cruise were perfect. Every staff member was very friendly and happy. I'm not satisfied with the Japanese restaurant. The dishes are served very slowly and the taste is just so-so. However Saffron and buffet are excellent. Read less

Starting with what i liked about the resort, stunning water, views, and cozy placement of the island. The food is spectacular no less than five star restaurants anywhere especially the Japanese restaurant ( madi hiyaa), which is located over the water by itself slightly away from the island. However, the highlight of our stay was the staff, they went above and beyond making us comfortable and happy in our stay. Special mention to our hostess the Moroccan lady Fatima, who did everything in her power to keep us happy during our vacation, she even noticed that I didn’t like the arrangement of the villas at the Banyan tree resort and she managed to change our accommodation into the sister Island (dhawa ihuru - another nearby resort owned by banyan tree) where I really liked the villa and the view of the Villa while maintaining all my privileges at Banyan tree resort, including the restaurant and the spa. Although I’m used to the five stars maldivian treatment however Fatima was truly special in her hospitality. Read less

My husband, kids, and I just spent five awesome days and four nights here. We were super happy with everything—from the rooms to the food to the beautiful views. The staff really stood out; they were so friendly and helpful! A special shoutout goes to Fatima at the front desk who went above and beyond for us. After we checked out, I realized my child's blanket was left behind in our room. I reached out to her right away, and she responded quickly, helping us get it back without any hassle before our flight home. We also want to give a big thanks to Jin, the Chinese translator, for helping us sort out some issues during our stay. All in all, this place feels like a warm resort where we had an amazing time! Read less

I have to start off by mentioning that this was my second time visiting the Maldives, and my second time at Banyan Tree. I was so impressed the first time that I didn't even look at other resorts my second time. The island itself is absolutely beautiful. It's not huge - you can walk a full circle around it in 15 minutes or so. But that isn't a bad thing. The beach, heavenly blue water, and reefs are stunning. Even the trees and vegetation are lovely. It is definitely the most beautiful place that I have ever visited in my life. A huge factor in choosing Banyan Tree was the quality and privacy of the accommodation, since we went there for our honeymoon and anniversary. We chose the beachfront villa and it was perfect. On the outside of the villa facing away from the beach, it has its own mini-pool, a hot tub, and outdoor shower. The fence/wall around it was great for privacy between villas. The inside of the villa was also amazing. The bed was very comfortable and overall the villa had such a romantic and elegant feel to it. It even smelled perfect. The bathroom was very clean and had one of those high-tech toilets with a bidet. On the outside facing the beach, it had a deck where you can sit, and it also had a small covered gazebo with cushions where you can lay down and enjoy the view. Of course, there were also pool chairs so you can sunbathe. The ocean itself was literally just 15 meters or so from the villa. The location and quality of the villa is truly unbeatable. The rest of the island and was also charming. It's setup like a small island village where even just walking to and from your villa is so enjoyable. The restaurants, bar, and other facilities were also beautiful. The food was terrific. We chose the option for full board, which includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would definitely choose this option, unless you plan to only eat once a day. It's more expensive, but honestly if you pay per meal you will end up spending the same, if not much more. Every day they have a breakfast buffet. For lunch, you go to one of their two restaurants and eat (you get a starter, entree, & dessert). On three days of the week, they have a dinner buffet. I loved the buffets because of the variety, especially with trying some of the local Maldivian items. Despite only having two restaurants for lunch and dinner (on the days without the dinner buffet), the menus are and excellent. My wife doesn't really like Thai food too much, but she loved the Thai restaurant they have. They have an option for drinks to also be included, but we don't drink alcohol and rarely drink sodas and juices either so we didn't add that option. I'm pretty sure they also have room service if you want to eat other things and when the restaurants aren't open. We ordered room service during our first visit but didn't need to this time. Now to their service. I have never had a such a flawless customer service experience at any other hotel, resort, or even any other type of business. There was not a single employee who did not smile and greet us while we were there. It seems like Maldivian people are naturally very pleasant, but the non-Maldivian staff were just as great. You have to take a 20 minute speedboat ride to get to the island, so they have one of their staff waiting for you on time at the airport to take your bags and load them on the boat and take you to the resort. When you arrive, their staff greet you with a short Maldivian welcoming ritual and give you a refreshing drink and take pictures of you and your family/friends. They have a dedicated person who gives you a tour and takes care of you and answers your questions throughout your stay. Ours was Liu, she was so amazing, nice, and helpful. It was also very easy to reach her through WhatsApp. They cleaned the villa twice a day. This sounds excessive, but it actually was helpful since it can get a little messy from all the sand and swimming. They also timed it to where they would clean it while we were gone for breakfast and dinner, so we were never there during the cleaning. Even if we were, I wouldn't have minded. I forgot his name, but the guy who cleaned our villa during our stay was very nice and pleasant. He also did a perfect job of cleaning and replenishing everything. At the restaurants, all of the servers were very nice and the service was amazing. They always had a smile on their face and made us feel at home. I can honestly say that the overall service experience at Banyan Tree was absolutely perfect. There is nothing more that I could have wanted from them. As for activities, we didn't really do anything. We were more interested in just relaxing on the beach and enjoying the beautiful island and atmosphere. However, the one thing I did was go snorkeling to observe blacktip sharks and other marine life. They have a marine conservancy program at Banyan Tree and one of their biologists, Aman, approached us during breakfast and informed us of a snorkeling activity that day. I ended up doing that and it was an amazing experience. I saw a few sharks and so many amazing fish and creatures in the reef. Aman was also such a great guide. I was very curious and he answered all of my questions. The others at the marine conservancy were also fantastic. I highly recommend doing that snorkeling activity. You will not regret it. One last thing that was very impressive was the Wi-Fi availability. I needed internet access to finish a few things for work remotely, and I had no issues. The coverage throughout the island was great, and the speed was more than enough for me to be able to finish my work. It was also free. They even had Wi-Fi on the speedboat from the airport to the island. The one single tiny thing that could be improved is the temperature of the drinking water and refrigerator in the villa. This is also my very specific personal preference and for most people it probably doesn't matter. But I love my water to be very cold. The refrigerator wasn't very cold so I had to ask for buckets of ice. Lol, I think a lot of the staff knew us as the ice people. Again, this is really the only thing that I could have asked for. If you're browsing the resorts in the Maldives and are unsure of which one to choose, I can wholeheartedly and honestly say that Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru is the best resort that I've ever been to in the world. The island is paradise on earth. Because of my laziness and lack of time, I rarely leave reviews for any place. However, I've been more than happy to leave such a lengthy review for this place. You will not regret staying with them. We will definitely be back there (hopefully next summer) and next time we will also bring our kids. Thank you to everyone at Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru for such unforgettable experiences! We can't wait to be back! Read less